It is often desirable to increase the voltage that a transistor fabricated using a given process can withstand before breakdown of the transistor occurs. Many workers have concentrated on techniques and modifications to improve the off state breakdown voltage of a transistor, which is the maximum voltage that the transistor can withstand whilst being nominally non-conducting. However, depending on the specific configuration of circuits that a transistor is used in, a transistor may experience a voltage across it when it is in a conducting state as well. It would be desirable to improve the on state breakdown characteristics of a transistor without adversely affecting its off state breakdown characteristics.